Surgery Day 11-21-07  -- I made it!

Wednesday the 21st of November dawn very early after a near sleepless night (due to excitement and apprehension).  My surgery time is 1:15p.m. and it is a two hour ride from here to Portsmouth, VA (hospital location--obvioulsy)...so, everyone is packed and ready to go except yours truly.  I can pack so well for anyone else but when it comes to myself, ugh!... Finally, all is packed and ready to go... from my daughter's "blankey (she's now 15 ) right down to my personal pillow to use in the hospital.  And off we go... for the two hour ride... 

P-A-N-I-C of all panics, my husbands cell rings half way into the ride.  It's the hospital wanting to know where I am, they came to take me to the staging area and I wasn't there,.......NO I wasn't there, I didn't have to be there until 11:15 am at the earliest.... Needless-to-say I call the hospital back after my husband tells them "we're on the way"... I needed to know what in the world was the problem.  Turned out the person scheduled before me was a "NO SHOW" (can you believe that)... they came for me early.  All this information they didn't mention to my very calm husband.  

Soooooooooo, we get to the hospital parking lot and as we're pulling into a  space I see my best friend, angel, confidant, partner-in-crime pulling in at the same time.  She'd had surgery four weeks early......... oooo and looked amazing!  So, in we all five walked (all five being me, my husband, daughter, 7 year old son, and best friend)...and in a flurry I wisked away to get EVERYTHING going, they were taking me up early, everything just flew by.  Before I could even blink I was in a hospital gown and in a bed.  The nurse came in with the IV stuff to get me all hooked up (the scariest part for me at this point was getting the IV--I'm a big baby when it comes to needles)  *the nurse whelding the IV cath was great, got it started and secured in record time--and no tears... I don't think I've ever gotten an IV without my husband holding my hand!  I know, I'm a baby!  

Finally, in comes my husband.  What a relief to see him eventhough we'd only been in separate rooms for 15 minutes or so.  He always makes me feel better just knowing he is close by.  Then in came the rest of the family.   Before I realize it, I'm being wheeled out, giving kisses and hugs to everyone and being put on the elevator to go upstairs.  My little guy went with Lo to the waiting area and my husband and 15 year old daughter when back to the staging area with me.  It was nice having them there with me.  I could see that my baby-girl was looking quite concerned with the whole hospital situation, it was hard to keep myself in the right frame-of-mind and worry about her too; but, she did lighten up some, I think that helped us both.  

Both the anethesia doctor and the surgeon came in to chat a bit while I was in the staging area.  More kisses, some goofy juice was then injected into my IV line and from there I was wheeled into the surgical sweet, I remember (vaguely), helping to get myself shifted over onto the surgery table... beyond that, it gets really F-u-Z-z-Z-Z-y....... 

I'll skip the recovery room, ugh... I don't want to even go back there in my memory.....just surfice it to say that I come out of anethesia hard (as my surgeon put it)...  But it was all worth it.

I'm told that when I was finally taken up to my room that the nurses who were helping me get into my hospital chair (more comfy than the bed by far) got a good giggle from me....  Apparently they went out to my family and friends and told them that I was doing Darth Vader impersonations in my chair.  I was wearing an oxygen mask and I'm told that I was saying that oh so famous line "Luke, I am your father!"  It's funny just thinking about that.......... 

It took me quite a while to regain a reasonable amount of consciousness... I stayed on the oxygen mask for more than 24 hours, then after that to the oxygen canula... needless to say my O2 readings were not what they were hoping for... my doctor decided to keep me an additional day in the hospital due to my low saturation levels...  I stayed on the canula until the morning I went home.

**Let me tell you what, the nursing staff at MMC was outstanding, I can't say enough good about my stay at the hospital (other than I would have preferred to be home)....

My husband took off of work from the 21st of November until the 3rd of December.  He's a very protective man when it comes to me and the kids... recovering from surgery is no exception and contrary to what I'd tell him he wanted me to "take it easy"... aside from the hernia repair the doctor said I could do everyday type things, no lifting though.  God love a man that wants to take care of you (me).  However, I was ready to get moving...So, he cooked, cleaned, took care of the all the kids' needs and was driver around the clock.  It made me feel a little guilty for enjoying the time off, but only a little! 

Recovery at home was fine.  The daily Lovenox shots were the hardest part but my husband did a great job doing even that... even with my incredible non-tolerance for needles.  Needless to say, come the December 2nd I was glad to see the last of the shots in my abdomen.

Life is good.  My wonderful husband has returned to work (a little piece for me--but I do love him so, he took such good care of me), and the kids are back in school.  I'm excited to get my "everything" moving in the right direction again. ....more later